Diversity Awareness

Welcome to Diversity Awareness: Valuing Differences and Fostering Civility in the Workplace. I can imagine that you are asking yourself, “Is this the right learning experience for me?” Or, “What will I learn that I don’t already know?” Those are fair questions, and I can help you with the answers.

I designed this course for the eager learner who wants to be informed about and knowledgeable of diversity--related challenges and issues, as well as for the reluctant learner who has been "volunteered" to learn about and become knowledgeable of the challenges and issues that often contribute to personal and organizational ineffectiveness. The course, which should take about 5 hours to complete, is for the seasoned professional, as well as for the newcomer, in areas of diversity awareness, civility and respect and personal and professional development.Now that we’ve covered who you are and how you might benefit from the course, let’s explore some of the specific elements that will be covered.

In addition to highlighting some of the legal requirements for minimizing workplace discrimination, the course will also explore some of the consequences of discrimination and how they undermine personal and professional effectiveness and create group disharmony, professional ineffectiveness, and organizational and personal liabilities.

The course includes numerous prescriptive recommendations for resolving many organizational and personal challenges related to discrimination and unfair treatment.

While the general target population and focus is the United States, any learner anywhere in the world will benefit from some elements of the training, as well as from U. S. specific aspects of the training that have worldwide implications.

What students will learn or be able to do after taking this course:

• Assess individual knowledge and understanding of diversity variables;
• Develop an awareness of personal attitudes about and behaviors toward differences that could potentially impair harmonious relationships;
• Examine some of the emotional and psychological factors that interfere with effective human interactions;
• Eliminate insensitive and intolerant workplace behaviors;
• Learn and accept personal responsibility for fostering civility in the workplace;
• Reduce personal and organizational liabilities for discrimination and harassment claims;
• Create positive relationships among team members;
• Assess individual and group responsibilities for preventing, managing and resolving organizational conflict; and
• Promote optimal team performance in a diverse/multicultural work environment.